Album Sales in America Last Week: Is This and All-Time Low?

I just got the physical sales numbers for album sales in the US the week ending April 8 and they’re pretty dismal. Chris Stapleton had the #1 album in a nation of 320 million people by selling just

Chris Stapleton had the #1 album in a nation of 320 million people by selling just 59,000 copies–and this is an album that’s been on the charts for 48 weeks. The only reason it’s up there is because of the Academy of Country Music broadcast.

Weezer’s white album has the highest debut in America this week with just over 45,000 copies.

Kanye West sold just 28,000 copies of The Life of Pablo (good for a SoundScan debut at #6) but in all fairness, it’s not widely available for sale. (If we consider streaming into our equations, Kanye is at #1 overall.)

If you add up all album sales in the Top 200 in America, only 1.01 million copies were sold.

It’s possible to make the SoundScan Top 200 by selling just 1,300 units.

About the Author

Alan Cross is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker.
In his 30+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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